Come With Me
by crystalcloud
Summary: This is a little one shot about what Draco is like after Hermione's death in the second war. Does love still prevail after promises are broken?


Hey! I wrote this the night before my practice English exam and I suppose it was stress relief (or avoiding study) I felt like writing a little angst instead of the pleasant atmosphere of my other fic, Post War Relations.

I will continue with that soon for all those dedicated readers out there!

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Draco Malfoy was a man with reputation and power. He had the cold glare that could weaken your knees in a moment and demanded that he get everything he wanted.

Draco Malfoy was wealthy; and he wasn't one to hide it. He always wore expensive robes and was dressed in the latest fashion just because he could.

Draco Malfoy was a business man; he held in his palm a multi-million galleon business that was deeply ingrained into the entire wizarding community. He closed off deals with record speed and not a single bad thing could be found about the activities of Malfoy Inc.

Draco Malfoy felt, like an empty shell.

Everyday he waltzed down corridors richly lined with portraits of his ancestors and other antique decorations. But he never noticed them, he couldn't remember the last time he had seen one of the portraits properly.

Everyday he put on a different set of expensive robes. But he never noticed the soft inner layer or the way they fit his shoulders perfectly as they were tailored to, he only noticed the emptiness of the room and the silence that seemed to suffocate him.

Everyday felt like a dream; a never ending chain of events that didn't have any meaning.

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"_Oh look! It's snowing! Come on!" She tugged at his arm relentlessly until he finally got up from his warm perch by the fire and put on a thick scarf._

_Outside, she twirled around as the snowflakes fell around her; she had never looked more beautiful._

"_Come on! Live a little!" She laughed, it sounded like the tinkling of ice against a glass; sweet and innocent._

_He was dragged into the centre of the clearing and she held his hand out to catch a falling snowflake. It melted on contact._

"_It's cold." He said, though he was smiling as he said it._

_She laughed again, "Then warm up!" They spun around and chased each other like young children._

_He collapsed on the now snow-covered ground clutching his stomach as he laughed. She fell down beside him with a huff._

"_Feeling any less dignified?" She teased, resting her cheek on his chest._

"_No." He told her seriously "I love you."_

_She sat up slowly and gazed at him, their eyes met as she searched for truth in his words._

"_I love you too." She whispered, leaning down to kiss him gently._

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It had been a long time since he had felt that beautiful emotion; happiness. Sometimes he had to rack his brain to try and recall how exactly it had felt to him.

As a child he hadn't really felt true pleasure and contentment. But after her, he knew how deprived he had been.

Things would have better for him now if he never knew about it at all; if he never found out what he had been missing and what he was missing now.

But he wouldn't ever choose to let go of those times, even if it made the suffering greater now; the memories were worth it.

Until you can't remember them anymore.

As one of the richest men in the wizarding community, he had every right to attend soiree's each night of the week and go to dinner parties with business partners, but he had no desire to do that.

He spent most nights before his pensive, trying to keep the memories fresh, trying to ignore how much time had gone by.

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"_It's starting again." She said no more but he knew exactly what she was talking about._

"_You need to find a place to hide." He told her, his mind turning over all the possible places she could be safe in._

_But she stood before him, a defiant expression on her face "No, I'm not going to hide like a coward."_

"_You already fought; I won't let you do it again." He said, calmly. Inside his heart was racing in fear._

"_You can't tell me what to do!" She yelled suddenly._

_He stood up and glared at her "Let go of your bloody pride and keep your head down! I'm not going to let you put your life in danger again!"_

_She glared back; the only person who wasn't afraid of his gaze._

"_I'm going! And you can't do a thing about it!"_

_He gripped her arm then, not in anger; he was pleading "Please, don't go."_

_Her expression changed "You know I can't do that." She said softly, regret in her eyes._

"_I don't want to lose you." He told her honestly._

_She smiled up at him, "Don't worry, I'll always be here, Draco."_

_He wanted to believe her, despite his logical mind telling him it wasn't something she could promise._

_He took in every word and believed it with every fibre of his being._

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"Good evening Mr Malfoy." He was startled from his thoughts by a stout man grinning at him.

"Good evening Mr Reichs." He bowed slightly and stepped into the large mansion.

He had been invited to a dinner party where he suspected Mr Reichs was hoping to interest him with one of his daughters. There was no such chance.

"I'm glad you could make it this evening." The man continued, looking to the stiff figure before him and trying to decide if he was impressed by the household décor.

Draco didn't register any of the expensive paintings or suits of armour. "It was my pleasure." He answered mechanically.

Most believed that he never showed surprise or awe at anything because he had grown up in such an environment and most likely had much more rich surroundings in his own home.

Draco Malfoy never held dinner parties at his Manor; at any of his properties. Draco Malfoy couldn't be bothered.

"I would like to introduce my eldest daughter," Mr Reichs said when they reached a dining room already full of bodies. "Eleanor."

Draco took her hand and placed a light kiss on it before giving her a shadow of a smile.

"Mr Malfoy, my father has said much about you." She had a strong voice, but it was coated in honey; unlike hers.

"I have no doubt he has." Draco replied, looking around at the other guests.

The girl seemed mildly put out that his attention had already been diverted. "Would you care to share a dance Mr Malfoy?" She asked softly.

Draco stared down at her.

She was frozen by his icy gaze. It seemed he was looking right through her and she felt vulnerable under his scrutiny.

"I must give my most sincere apologies," He said without meaning it "there are matters of business I must attend to."

Before she could register what he had said, he had already disappeared in the crowd, his expensive robes swishing around a group of glittering ladies.

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"_Where is she?" He demanded the moment he Flooed into headquarters._

_She said she would be back by ten; it was midnight. A painful twinge in his heart started an hour earlier and a part of him already knew the answer to the question._

"_We don't know Malfoy." Potter told him, a frown on his face._

_He swept dust of his robes and looked around. Weasley was sitting at a table, his mother came in and saw him, she simply turned and left the room._

"_Where did she go?" He asked again._

_Potter indicated to a map spread out on the table "Not far, up north."_

_Draco was about to step towards the table when he felt a strange sensation and the candles began to flicker. From a distance he heard Potter's voice "Malfoy? Merlin Malfoy!"_

_He was swirling in darkness, falling down a bottomless canyon._

_Draco felt his body slowing, and there was light coming from some unknown source. It filled everywhere and he couldn't tell where exactly it was coming from._

_All of a sudden, in the blink of an eye she was there. She was floating in the darkness before him and the light was coming to her. The beams of light were travelling towards her as though by some sort of attraction force._

"_Draco." Her voice sweet and calm._

_He couldn't feel his body and though he wanted to talk to her, he couldn't._

"_I'm sorry Draco." There was so much sadness in her tone; he wanted to cry out 'no!' but he couldn't._

"_I know I made a promise, but I couldn't keep it. I tried," She was crying, glittering tears falling from her glowing frame._

_He felt the urge to hold her like he always did when she cried, she would lean into his shoulder and sob while and patted her hair and muttered soft endearments into her ear._

"_I really tried Draco, but…but I couldn't." She came towards him and he felt himself opening his arms to her, waiting for her to come to him._

"_Oh Draco, know that I'm so sorry, please," she was right in front of him now, he swore he could feel her breath. "Please forgive me." she leaned forward and for a split second he felt their lips touch._

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Draco strode out of the room and out into the large gardens. He found peace here.

At the Manor things seemed so daunting when there was no noise, but here at these places; it only reminded him of her long silence.

He sat before a small pond, the surface still; a perfect mirror.

"Have you forgiven me Draco?" He wasn't startled by the voice. He knew she was there long before she spoke.

"No." He said harshly and felt the air around him shift. She floated before him, a pearly, translucent form.

"I told you Draco, I tried." She begged, and he felt tears prickle the backs of his eyes.

"I've tried to forget." He whispered to the glowing woman. "I tried too, but it never works."

He shivered when she touched him, her hand going straight through his but the memories came flooding back.

"They said you can come with me." She told him, hope in her voice. "I know it's selfish to ask it of you."

He looked up at her, hardly daring to believe it in case he should be struck down again.

"I am sure of it; if that's what you want." He could see the lake through her and saw the surface shivering slightly.

"You know I would gladly come with you." He breathed.

She smiled, a haze of tears forming in her silver eyes. "Then come Draco, we've suffered enough."

He couldn't resist her smile, her offer; nothing could have stopped him from going to her.

They reached out to one another and when their hands touched, he _felt_ her touch, her fingers; her palm.

He felt himself being lifted, and he felt it again; joy.

A spiral of water rose from the lake and encircled their bodies. And he saw her smiling at him.

She wasn't silvery and transparent anymore; she had her ginger locks, her smooth skin that he always ached to touch.

Around them were trees, sunshine and laughter.

"Welcome home Draco." She grinned, and kissed him.

His entire body warmed with that familiar feeling of having her near, he could feel her lips. He could feel her in his arms.

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_**Tragic Unexplained Death**_

_Last night at a small dinner party held by the Reichs family, Draco Malfoy was found dead in the family gardens._

_There is no explanation for the unexpected death of the last Malfoy. His body was found lying along a garden bench before a lake. There were no visible signs of violence and the Minstry of Magic can find no plausible motive for murder._

_Harry Potter claims that he had no reason in his own mind to live. "He was a shadow of a man after Hermione died."_

_Hermione Granger was Mr Malfoy's wife for five years until her unfortunate death during the second war. Many close to Mr Malfoy claim he was never the same after this and his health has been steadily deteriorating over the past three years._

_It would appear that Mr Malfoy had no heir, all of his assets will be therefore giving to the Ministry of Magic._

_This untimely death is indeed a mystery, that many claim, will never be solved._

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So please tell me if you liked it, I thought it had quite a bitter sweet aura. I think my vocabulary is quite limited because I seem to be coming across a few words that I use a lot.

Please review and let me know what you think!


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